Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

Learning gross anatomy: dissection and prosection

V L Yeager1

  • 1Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, St. Louis University School of Medicine, MO 63104, USA.

Clinical Anatomy (New York, N.Y.)
|January 1, 1996
PubMed
Summary

Students who dissected cadavers in gross anatomy scored slightly higher on tests than peers learning from pre-dissected specimens. However, both methods proved satisfactory, with students consistently scoring above the national average.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

The performance of students selected through a special program at St. Louis University School of Medicine.

Academic medicine : journal of the Association of American Medical Colleges·1997
Same author

Anatomy of the lumbar vertebral column.

Seminars in neurology·1986
Same author

The degree to which accuracy of preoperative staging of laryngeal carcinoma has been enhanced by computed tomography.

Otolaryngology--head and neck surgery : official journal of American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery·1986
Same author

Smooth muscle in the hepatic artery, portal vein and hepatic vein within the liver of the raccoon and guinea pig.

Experientia·1985
Same author

Muscle function studies in amputated lathyritic rats.

The Journal of experimental zoology·1985
Same author

Lathyrism: mini-review and a comment on the lack of effect of protease inhibitors on osteolathyrism.

Journal of experimental pathology·1985

Area of Science:

  • Medical Education
  • Gross Anatomy
  • Peer Teaching

Background:

  • Gross anatomy courses are fundamental to medical education.
  • Peer teaching models, including dissection, are employed to enhance learning.
  • Evaluating the efficacy of different learning modalities is crucial for curriculum development.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To compare student performance in gross anatomy based on dissection versus learning from pre-dissected cadavers.
  • To assess the impact of peer teaching through dissection on student test scores.

Main Methods:

  • A gross anatomy course divided into 40 units was studied.
  • Students participated in peer teaching, with one-fourth performing dissections for each unit.
  • Four multiple-choice tests were administered to compare scores between students who dissected and those who learned from pre-dissected material, with results adjusted for overall test performance.

Main Results:

  • Dissecting students scored higher than non-dissecting students on 13 out of 16 question sets.
  • The overall difference in scores was small (67.80% for dissectors vs. 66.70% for non-dissectors).

Conclusions:

  • Dissecting and peer teaching offers a small academic advantage in gross anatomy.
  • Learning from pre-dissected cadavers is an effective study method.
  • Students in this program consistently achieve above-average scores on national anatomy examinations, validating the curriculum's effectiveness.

Related Experiment Videos